LARAMIE, Wyo. - The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the University of Wyoming's Cowgirl Classic with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-23) win over Bethune-Cookman and a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-15) loss to tournament host Wyoming at the Wyoming Sports Complex. The Green and Blue are now 4-3 overall on the season.
In the first game of the day, the Eagles opened with a 21-9 run, capped by a kill by junior Karina Mambuca (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS/Southeastern). The Green and Blue continued their solid play and cruised to a 25-13 win.
Trailing 14-8 in the second set, Bethune-Cookman (0-6) used a 5-2 run, to cut the FGCU advantage to 16-13. A pair of kills from senior Brittany Muse (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) and an attack error from B-CU put the Eagles ahead 19-14. Leading 21-17, the Green and Blue employed a 4-1 run, capped by a kill from sophomore Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS), to close out the set (25-18).
Trailing 19-15 in game three after an attack error, the Green and Blue used a 10-4 run, highlighted by a pair of Kaitlin Holm (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS/Marshall) kills, to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
Muse and Holm, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led the team with nine kills and seven kills, respectively, while sophomore Jill Hopper (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown HS) chipped in with six kills and six digs. Mesner and Mambuca registered five kills each, while sophomore Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS) recorded a team-high 14 assists.
In their second match on the final day of the tournament, the Eagles fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-15) to tournament host Wyoming.
Wyoming hit .329 as a team on Saturday as four Cowgirls registered five or more kills in the sweep.
Jodi Purdy and Camille Coffman led UW with nine kills each, while Rachel Keyes and Becky Stewart added eight digs each for Wyoming (7-0). Keyes ran the Cowgirl offense and finished with a match-high 18 assists.
FGCU stumbled out of the gate and finished with a .025 hitting percentage in the match. Mesner finished with six kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while Christine Pinder (Gainesville, Fla./ Buchholz HS/Houston/Central Florida CC) totaled a team-high 11 digs to go with five kills.
Florida Gulf Coast will be back in action next weekend at the Toledo Rocket Classic (Sept. 7-8). The tournament field includes Memphis, Illinois State and Toledo.
UniWyo Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament Team
Maddy Doyle, George Washington
Kaitlin Holm, Florida Gulf Coast
Taryn Mille, UMKC
Skylar Muff, UMKC
Erin Kirby, Wyoming
Rachel Keyes, Wyoming
MVP - Jodi Purdy, Wyoming
